Yes, quaking aspen. You can see it in one of the rearing pictures lol.

I would have to check my records for food plant, but I am pretty sure I used quaking aspen. It’s not a hybrid. The eggs are from Sault Ste. Marie. Nothing but L. arthemis arthemis there.

I have never seen a hybrid either. I also found that specimens I raised were larger and had more blue sheen compared to ones I’ve seen in the wild, especially the females.

Thanks for that explanation John. I was not aware of these nuances. Thanks for educating me.

Yeah you have to be careful if paying money for specimens on Facebook. I am not sure many scammers will trade for common species.

I would add that Facebook also has a bunch of groups where you can make contacts.

Agree. One stray in an area with some arbitrary human made border and it’s critically endangered. If it’s not seen in 50 years, it’s extirpated.

Here are pictures of the larva and pupa. The pupa was around 15 mm.

Thank you. I actually have dozens of photos per species documenting everything. It’s just too much of a pain to format and upload more than a few at a time. I just posted L. arthemis.

I raised a small series, as per usual. Male on top, female on the bottom.

I have raised this species twice. Both times, larvae were found on willow. The larvae and pupae are almost indistinguishable from L. arthemis. This species is not rare, but not often seen in large numbers either. The first time I saw the larvae of this species was on a lone small sickly looking will...

Eclosion.

Nothing rare or exotic, but attractive nonetheless. The first time I raised this species was when visiting my in-laws. I noticed a female flying near a mountain ash tree (Sorbus sp) in their yard. I was not aware this was used as a host plant. I decided to check the tree anyway and easily located ov...

Thank you. For me, collecting is not just about beauty or science. Each specimen gives me a connection to the past. Each ones holds for me some memory of a trip or adventure. When I look at any species in my collection, I can tell you a story. In the next 30 min, I will post a couple more species.

Thanks Trehopr1. I like all kinds of stuff really. I almost never raise the same species twice. I raise a series and then move on to learn about something else. Every year, I try to raise 1-2 different species, but each caterpillar is raised individually and I record dates of all molts, pupation, di...

These eggs were laid in summer and this should have been the winter generation. However, when raised indoors, I think the temperature and light still resulted in the summer form.

The issue is they are suuuuuper localized and the populations cycle through booms and busts. I found thousands of larvae this summer in a patch of nettle. If you walk 50 m in either direction, you find zero. Not few, zero larvae. The females dump all or most of their eggs in one shot, so in a large ...

I am not sure if it’s lightning, resolution, or both. When I emailed the iPhone picture to myself, I had the option of sending the file as small, medium, or large and the largest file I could save but still upload is just over 100kb…so, not great.

Not rare in my area, but also not usually seen in large numbers. I caught a female nectaring in my yard and sleeved it over nettle. She laid eggs on both the plant and sleeve. I was able to raise a series of 8 individuals. Males on the left and females on the right, all ex pupa.

This species is considered a stray in my area. A few years ago, we had a sizeable migration and I was able to raise a small series from eggs I found on hackberry. This are a pair of ex pupa specimens, male on top and female on the bottom. They sexes are extremely similar.